In an effort to protect their elephants, many African countries are supporting a proposal by Kenya and Mali calling on this year’s Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to adopt a total worldwide ivory trade ban for 20 years. Such a ban would provide elephants with the time they desperately need to recover; a break which could also be used to crack down on poaching and illegal trade.

An estimated 20,000 elephants are slaughtered annually to supply illegal ivory markets. More and more potentially illegal ivory is now offered over the Internet where there is little risk to traders of being detected or prosecuted. Thousands of illegal ivory auctions take place every day on eBay. Thanks to pressure from supporters like you, on June 5th, 2007 Ebay announced that they are implementing a global ban of all cross border ivory trade. This step forward underlines that global players like eBay have recognized their responsibility in ending illegal ivory trade. However, continued weak enforcement, both on the ground and increasingly on the Internet, enables the illegal ivory trade to continue.

Ivory trade anywhere is a threat to elephants everywhere. No trade in ivory should be allowed, especially while domestic ivory markets all over the world remain unregulated. And the legal ivory trade serves as a cover for the unbelievable levels of illegal trade that encourages poaching across Africa and Asia.

Thirty years ago, over one million elephants roamed. Today that number has been cut in half because of habitat loss, human encroachment and the killing for ivory. The ivory trade, perhaps the greatest threat to elephants today, could be stopped by governments at CITES and by the online marketplaces which permit it.